


In Tandem

by DigitalSiamese



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Ballet, Carmen is a VILE agent, Crushes, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 11:00:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17641505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DigitalSiamese/pseuds/DigitalSiamese
Summary: In-between the undercover jobs and the secrets and the general thievery, Carmen and Gray capture a moment for themselves on the stage of a ballet theater.





	In Tandem

**Author's Note:**

> AU: Carmen is a VILE operative. I don't know why or how. She just is.

“I don't like this,” Gray murmured, the first hint of hesitation he had shown in weeks.

Carmen silently lifted an eyebrow, eyeing him over. “It's a little late to go back now,” she reminded him, reaching over to adjust the collar of the outfit he wore. “If you really hate dancing that much, you should have told Countess Cleo sooner.”

At her last remark he glanced down and shifted away, muttering something under his breath.

“What was that?” Carmen asked.

“It's not -” Gray paused, frowning. “The dancing is fine. I just...” His eyes trailed past the curtains, past the bright lights, out to the audience waiting in their seats; “...don't like being on stage.”

Surprise flickered across his friend's face. “I wouldn't have picked you for having stage fright,” Carmen stated. Gray rocked back on his feet; he still didn't look at her. “Hey,” she said. “Gray. _Graham_.” Her hands found his, fingers tangling together, and at _last_ his gaze met hers. “You have absolutely _nothing_ to worry about,” she told him. “We've been practicing our parts for weeks; you know the steps inside and out! We'll have one scene and then we can sneak away during intermission with our mark before anyone knows they - or we - are missing. Okay?”

Gray nodded slowly, smiling as best he could despite the nerves. “Okay,” he agreed. “This seems like an awful lot to put us through for a pair of ballet shoes.”

“They're not just _any_ ballet shoes -”

“Please, save it. The Countess practically branded it into my brain.”

From beyond the curtains came a round of applause, no doubt for the arrival of the conductor. Gray cast her one last glance, asking, “Ready?”

Carmen smiled encouragingly at him. “Of course.”

They let go of each other and hurried silently to the edge of the wings, joining the other dancers waiting for their cue. Excitement sizzled in the air. There was a pause - the breath before the jump. And then, the first gentle strains of a violin, summoning the prima ballerina onto the scene to be bathed in a gentle halo of light.

A flute trilled like the cry of a songbird and immediately the stage came alive with lights, colors, and dancers, Carmen and Gray lost in the middle of it all. Their movements pulled them apart, weaving in and out of the other ballerinas, and then pushed them back into each other's arms with the swell of a full orchestra.

Elegantly, Carmen twirled into Gray's waiting embrace and leaned back against him. It was just as they had practiced. His hand alighted very gently on her hip, guiding her across the stage in time to the music. _It's just like we've done a hundred times before._

Except that it wasn't.

They slid apart, eyes meeting, fingertips gliding over and off of each other; and for a moment they were no longer background dancers, no longer surrounded by strangers, no longer trapped in a theater. The world was lost to them. It was just Carmen, just Gray; just two souls moving so in synch with each other that it was hard to remember where one ended and the other began.

Carmen tucked back into Gray, warmth rushing over her face and across her shoulders as she felt his hands settle around her waist. _One,_ she counted, feeling the tempo. _Two, three -!_ On the beat, she tensed and he lifted her into the air for a slow spin.

For the last time they broke apart, and the world filled back in around them. When they faced each other, a real, genuine smile had crept onto Gray's face.

The music slowed to an end. The prima ballerina and her partner glided to the edge of the stage and the spotlight focused in on them, leaving everyone else in the shadows. A thunderous round of applause rose from the audience. Unseen by the crowd, the rest of the dancers hurried back into the wings, voices hushed as they went off to prepare for the next scene.

“Gray!” Carmen blurted, grinning like a fool; “You were wonderful!” Her words almost drowned out the steady, rapid pound of her heart. Almost.

“Hey! That's my line!” he teased, bumping his shoulder against hers. He felt short of breath, and he knew it wasn't just from the dancing. “You were a regular angel out there. Almost makes me wish we didn't have to leave before our next part.”

There was a pause. Carmen smirked. “Who says we have to?”

 

•••

 

Audience members wandered out of the theater through the front door, bathed in golden light. Gray and Carmen chose a less conventional exit: a silenced fire escape that opened into the alleyway. “They’re going to have our hides!” Gray gasped, breath misting in the chilly night air. They were  _way_ late for returning to VILE and neither of them really cared.

“We got what we came for,” Carmen reminded him, gesturing to her purse - the latest location of a million-dollar pair of ballet slippers. “Besides, what are they gonna do - put us on time-out for finishing the rest of the ballet?”

Gray raised his eyebrows. “They might.”

“I don't hear _you_ complaining.”

He thought of the way she had looked mere minutes ago: painted lips and fine lace, the faintest glisten on her temples as she poured her heart into her dancing. Her dancing with _him_ _._ She had been, by far, the most beautiful person in that theater, and she had been dancing with _him_ _._ “Nah. I'm not.” Casually, he threw his arm around her shoulders, trying to ignore how warm he suddenly felt. “Thanks, by the way.”

She glanced up at him when he spoke. “For what?”

“For what you said, earlier. Helped me get over my nerves.”

“Of course! You looked like you were having fun out there, after all the stage fright.”

Gray laughed. “I did, if you can believe it. In fact,” he admitted, a little quieter, “I might even like to do it again.”

It wasn't an invitation, but at the same time, it was; a hopeful suggestion, a...promise, of sorts. A promise just for her. That someday they'd dance again, not for VILE but for themselves - only if she wanted to, of course.

Carmen thought about how it had felt to have him so close, arms around each other, bodies moving in unison. Unfamiliar but exciting, strange but comfortable, and most undeniably _right._

“You know what?” she replied. “Me too.”


End file.
